Cleaning machines are used extensively for cleaning flooring surfaces comprised of tile, stone, brick, wood, concrete, carpets and other common surfaces. Maintaining the cleanliness of these surfaces, especially in high volume areas in commercial, industrial, institutional and public buildings is an ongoing and time consuming process. The present invention relates to a highly maneuverable floor cleaning or treatment apparatus (“treatment apparatus”) that supports an operator during use. More specifically, some embodiments of the present invention are adapted to clean, sweep, vacuum, burnish, wax, etc. (“treat”) a floored surface, wherein the operator is supported by the cleaning device increasing efficiency and productivity of the cleaning operation. As used, “floored surface”, or more generally “surface”, encompasses areas covered by concrete, tile, carpet, wood, plastic, stone, turf or any other substance known in the art. The prior devices address many issues that arise with cleaning such floored surfaces. Before the present invention, no one device could address many, if not all, of the issues that arise in cleaning various surfaces in various environments at any point in time.
Mop & Bucket Cleaning Devices
In the past, building maintenance staff and others often treat surfaces, such as tiled hallways or restroom floors, using traditional mop and bucket techniques. The bucket may include a detachable mop ringer and may be positioned on caster wheels to facilitate easy movement. Depending on the cleanliness of the equipment, a worker may make a good start in treating a floor using the mop and bucket approach. However, soon the mop and fluid in the bucket becomes soiled or otherwise contaminated by germs and/or bacteria. From that point on, each time the worker plunges the mop into the bucket and rings the mop, both the mop and cleaning fluid become more dirty/contaminated.
Manually Propelled Cleaning Devices
The basic cleaning problems associated with the prior art mop & bucket approach to cleaning surfaces have generally been addressed in the art, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,206,980 to Robinson, entitled “Multi-functional Cleaning Machine,” which is fully incorporated herein by reference. This type of cleaning machine includes a manually propelled wheeled body with two tanks, one concentrated chemical receptacle, a vacuum and blower motor and a fluid pumping system. Typically, such equipment includes only a single motor used for both vacuuming soiled fluid and blowing air that can dry a cleaned surface. While such equipment is maneuverable and is an improvement over the earlier mop and bucket technology, the system is still labor intensive and slow. Productivity of cleaning professionals, when using these types of systems is decreased over what it might be with other types of systems that are available.
Self Propelled Walk Behind Device
Productivity concerns have been addressed in the art by the creation of certain walk behind floor treatment apparatus. These apparatus typically have a scrub deck at the machine's front and a squeegee at its rear. The squeegee has the ability to “swing” or follow the path of the scrub deck as the machine changes direction. This type of equipment is more efficient in cleaning large surface areas than either the mop and bucket or the manually propelled devices. However, the distance between the scrub deck and squeegee is relatively great. Also, walk behinds typically have relatively wide squeegees. These characteristics limit such machine's maneuverability and limit the doorways they can easily pass through. Typical 3′ doorway allows a machine with no more than a 33″ squeegee to fit through without removal.
Small walk behind floor cleaning apparatus typically include a scrub deck in the middle of the machine and squeegees at the machine's rear. In this configuration the squeegee has little or no ability to swing or follow the path of the scrub deck as the machine changes direction. Small rider scrubbers typically have relatively narrow squeegees, and rely on “side squeegees” (unvacuumized squeegee blades) adjacent to the scrub deck to direct the water into the path of the main (vacuumized) squeegee. The problem with these side squeegees is they do not perform well for long and leave a film of water in turns because the vacuumized squeegee does not follow the true path of the scrub deck, only the path of the side squeegees (which leave the film of water). Finally, side squeegee are typically heavy rubber blades and have significant down pressure applied to them to direct the water this makes them expensive and causes significant “drag” which increases the work for the propel unit and limits battery run time. While more maneuverable than larger walk behind floor treatment machines, the small machines rarely clean as well as the larger machines.
Storage Issues in Prior Art Devices
Further, known cleaning machines do not provide adequate onboard storage for cleaning supplies, tools, etc. Likewise, prior art machines rarely provide a flexible approach to adding storage facilities for trash and the like when the need for such arises. Machinery that addresses these issues is therefore needed.
Self-propelled Ride-on Devices
Self-propelled cleaning devices are generally also well known in the field and are employed to treat large floored surfaces, such as tiled, concrete or carpeted floors found in hospitals, department stores, schools, gyms, etc. These devices provide the operator with seating from which he/she can control operation of the device. These devices are ideal for cleaning large, open areas because they can contain large amounts of waste fluids and/or debris without having to repeatedly perform time consuming fluid replacement or debris removal. Because these devices provide the user with seating, the user does not become prematurely fatigued, increasing overall worker productivity. These large ride-on machines are not particularly well-suited for cleaning smaller, more confined floor surfaces, which are often found in hallways, small rooms, or even large rooms which have many obstacles.
As is known in the art, smaller self-propelled cleaning devices are also in existence that are ideal for cleaning the smaller rooms and hallways. However, smaller devices are usually pushed or pulled by an operator. Hence, the major drawback of these devices is they often rely on operator strength to maneuver the device. Even if the device is self-propelled, it often employs manual steering. After a long shift of walking behind a treatment device, the operator is bound to become fatigued, wherein his or her attention will deviate from the task at hand, possibly resulting in uneven treatment to the floored area. Thus, a subsequent crew may have to return and retouch certain areas not accurately treated during the first operation. Human errors related to the time a surface is exposed to a brush, may occur when the operator lingers over a single area for extended period of time. This situation is never good for a floor surface. The devices in the art are also difficult to maneuver and often are not adapted to operate around tight corners, wherein pre or post cleaning operations must be performed, thus increasing the time and expense of the entire task.
As known in the art, floor cleaning apparatus are comprised of a chassis supported by a plurality of wheels, one of which is steerable to control the path of the machine. The chassis also accommodates a cleaning assembly, such as a brush, a sweeper, a squeegee, a burnisher, etc. The chassis also supports tanks used to hold water, cleaning fluids, and spent cleaning fluids suctioned from the surface being cleaned. Floor cleaning apparatus also often possess a receptacle or bag for holding collected dust and debris. The majority of the components associated with the cleaning machine are surrounded by at least one housing that protects the internal components from the environment and prevents individuals working around the machine from touching the often hot internal components. As floor cleaning apparatus are sometimes used in tight spaces, such as bathrooms and hallways, it is often desirable to make floor cleaning apparatus as compact as possible.
It is also desirable to provide floor cleaning machines that allow for easy access to internal componentry for maintenance and repair. The desire for easy access is often at odds with the desire to provide a compact apparatus. Prior art machines are constructed so the internal volume is minimized, providing a compact machine, but leaving virtually no easy access to internal componentry. To address this disadvantage, some prior art machines utilize removable segments to the housing that cover internal components. Often, however, external components, such as steering wheels, control panels, external storage tanks, etc., must be removed prior to removal of these housing segments. Removal of the external componentry and the housing segments technology is time consuming, costly, and increases the chance that the machine will be damaged or a component of the machine will be lost.
Some known floor cleaning apparatus also employ a rotating sweeper broom (“sweeper”) to lift debris from a floor. Generally, a cylindrical sweeper rotates about an axis parallel to the floor and which may be located between front and rear wheels of the apparatus. Floor cleaning apparatus also typically include a vacuum system that establishes a directional airstream adjacent to the broom to direct debris into a hopper where heavier debris is precipitated from the airstream. Lighter debris, especially dust, is then typically directed to a vacuum bag.
To enhance the suctioning effect provided by the vacuum, the sweeper may be in a housing situated between the front and rear wheels. The housing typically includes one or more flaps or seals that surround the sweeper that defines a skirt with a lower edge that contacts the floor. The flaps or seals are flexible or hinged to the chassis to allow debris to enter the assembly and be swept up by the sweeper. The flaps or seals also prevent the sweeper from throwing debris and dust as it rotates.
Some other floor cleaning apparatus treat the floor with a cleaning solution with at least one scrubber brush. In some apparatus, the cleaning solution is deposited onto the floor and a pair of rotating disk brushes are used to scrub the floor. Wastewater, which includes entrained debris, is then typically suctioned by a vacuum squeegee located behind or adjacent to the brushes.
One example of a floor cleaning apparatus is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,093,955 to Blehert et al. (“Blehert I”) entitled “Combined Sweeper and Scrubber.”Blehert I discloses a floor cleaning apparatus that can be set either to a sweeper mode or a scrubbing mode. Blehert I provides a single cylindrical rotary brush, a brush housing mounted on a frame, a solution tank and a removable debris hopper. When in the sweeping mode, a vacuum operating with an air circuit draws air from around the brush and through a filter. When in a scrubbing mode, the vacuum operates to recover dirty scrubbing solution from the rear of the apparatus through a squeegee located aft of the brush.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,041,471 to Charky et al. (“Charky”) entitled “Mobile Walk-Behind Sweeper” discloses a mobile sweeper for cleaning dust and collecting garbage from surfaces. Charky employs a plurality of brushes that direct dust to a collection point where a vacuum blower suctions the debris into a collection container.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,819,676 to Blehert et al. (“Blehert II”) entitled “Combination Sweeping and Scrubbing System and Method,” discloses an apparatus that comprises a sweeping assembly that can be converted into a scrubbing unit and vice versa. The sweeping assembly includes a removable hopper. Cylindrical brushes are also provided that operate in either the sweeping or scrubbing mode.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,580,313 to Blehert (“Blehert III”) entitled “Walk Behind Floor Maintenance Machine” discloses a floor treatment apparatus that has a plurality of wheels, a removal hopper, and a rotatable brush. A removable filter housing is also contemplated and has a prismatic shape. The design of the filter housing is such that a means for vibrating the filter is needed to dislodge particles. The cylindrical brushes of Blehert III are not enclosed within the housing.
Thus it is a long felt need to provide a floor treatment apparatus that employs one or more of the inventions set forth herein.